Effingham County dual enrollment student takes college life by the horns

Katie Rietkovich is taking college courses at Savannah Tech while completing her senior year at South Effingham High.

Meet Katie Rietkovich. She’s not your typical high school senior. Rietkovich will begin her college career in the fall with a number of credits already under her belt, thanks to the dual enrollment program with Savannah Technical College and South Effingham High School.

“I decided to dual enroll in criminal justice after meeting someone in the Savannah area who works for the FBA,” Rietkovich said. “I found his job extremely interesting and I wanted to learn more about the system.”

Rietkovich is also receiving a scholarship to the University of Georgia for softball.

“I’ve been playing fast pitch softball since I was 7,” she said. “My dad has always been a huge supporter of me — although he was a football coach, he quit football to coach me in softball.”

Although Rietkovich is pretty sure she won’t major in criminal justice, she feels confident that she’ll at least minor in the field and she believes STC is to thank for that.

“My experience in the dual enrollment program has been wonderful. I believe it gave me a keen insight to the college classroom setting and a first-hand look at the expectations of college professors.”

“I would highly recommend this program to any high school student who has any interest in the programs that are offered. It’s an excellent opportunity to get hands-on experience while still in high school while getting you a head start in college.”